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Digital Campaigning: Challenges for Older Bulgarian Electorate

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Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Design, Interaction and Technology Acceptance (HCII 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 13330))

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Abstract

2021 was an election year for the Bulgarians - they had to go to the polls for three national parliamentary votes (one regular and two early) and once again - for president. The pre-election campaigns for all these votes were held in the conditions of COVID-19 epidemic, hard political confrontation and some concomitant factors such as the European Football Championship, the summer vacations and the strong inflationary trends. Internet platforms and especially social networks became increasingly popular channels for politicians to communicate with voters. That is why the aim of the study focuses on the digital pre-election campaigns. The object is the dynamics of the internet connection between the voters (especially the older adults) and the MP candidates. The subject refers to the election messages of the leaders of the political forces, presented in their Facebook profiles. The methodology is comparative analysis and empirical study, conducted by academic research team from the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication at The St. Kliment Ohridski Sofia University. The scope of the study includes those political forces that have passed the 4% electoral threshold. The results are indicative for those interested in digital political communication during social pandemic isolation.

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Acknowledgements

The paper has been developed within the framework of the academic research projects and MEDIADELCOM project of H2020 of the EC. KP-06-M35/4-18.12.2019 of the National Scientific Fund of Bulgaria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, The St. Kliment Ochridski Sofia University, 49, Moskovska str., 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Lilia Raycheva, Andreana Eftimova, Neli Velinova & Lora Metanova

Authors
  1. Lilia Raycheva
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  2. Andreana Eftimova
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  3. Neli Velinova
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  4. Lora Metanova
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lilia Raycheva .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Qin Gao

  2. Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

    Jia Zhou

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Raycheva, L., Eftimova, A., Velinova, N., Metanova, L. (2022). Digital Campaigning: Challenges for Older Bulgarian Electorate. In: Gao, Q., Zhou, J. (eds) Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Design, Interaction and Technology Acceptance. HCII 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13330. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05581-2_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05581-2_28

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